The MV Skate Park enjoyed an exciting year in its new and improved facility in 2018. Thanks to MVYouth, the park remodel was completed and we saw a significant increase in park usage. We expanded our programing to include after-school programs in the spring and fall, as well as two Free Helmet Day giveaways. We are at work on a complete landscape overhaul — including new plantings, benches, a border wall, and a cleaned-up spectator area, and we are in the process of working with the Town of Oak Bluffs to install seven security lights around the property. We’ve added to our merchandise selection and begun a collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival by sponsoring skate-related films and events. We are so grateful to MVYouth for the opportunity to improve our park and expand our reach into the Island community.

2017 has been an exciting year for the Martha's Vineyard Skate Park Association! Thanks to the grant we received in 2016 from MVYouth, we were able to begin and complete construction on our park. The final result is a dynamic, safe and beautiful concrete park that, since reopening in June of this year, has been a hub of activity for veteran and novice Island skaters alike. Summer 2017 brought yet another great season of our Summer Skate Drop-In Program, and a 4-week pilot after-school program for elementary-aged skaters was a huge success. We look forward to continuing to develop after-school offerings in the spring, as well as the return of our popular "Free Helmet Days". We were also able to update and relaunch our logo and website. A complete landscape and lighting renovation project is currently underway. We are so very grateful to MVYouth donors for making all of this progress possible!

Thanks to generous support from MVYouth, the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park Association (MVSPA) has taken a number of important first steps in an effort to expand and rebuild the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park. In June of 2016 MVSPA hosted the first Annual Father’s Day Skate Jam/Free Helmet Day. Over thirty-five children received new, free helmets. The afternoon event included music, food and skate instruction by the staff of the MV Skate Camp. It is the goal of MSVPA to repeat this event each spring. After careful consideration MVSPA secured a builder for the new park, a professional skate park design and build firm out of California called Spohn Ranch. A design principal visited our park in November and we now have a completed final design for the project. We are on schedule to break ground in March of 2017. MVSPA is hard at work on additional updates to the park, including the installation of security lights and a webcam. We have hired an electrician and work is underway, with the goal of being completed in advance of the park rebuild this spring. MVSPA has also hired a web designer to design a new website for the park. The new site and logo will be live at mvskatepark.org soon. The Martha’s Vineyard Skate Summer Drop-In Program looks forward to expanding by offering an after-school program starting in the fall of 2017. MVSPA hopes to collaborate with neighboring organizations like the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club to develop these offerings.